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Q&A with Writer/Director Charlie Vundla

Charlie Vundla took a few minutes to talk about his first feature film How To Steal 2 Million. He was gracious enough to talk about filming in his hometown Johannesburg South Africa, crime thrillers that influenced him, prision rehabilitation, and making character driven films.

How did the story for How to Steal 2 Million come about?

Charlie Vundla: After I left film school I made three made for TV movies. I wanted to step it up and make theatrical feature films. I started thinking about my favorite genres and decided to go with a crime drama. It worked for Quentin Tarantino in Reservoir Dogs, it worked for Joel and Ethan Coen in Blood Simple, and so I gave it a try. I also wanted to make a film that was an ode to Johannesburg and show this city, my hometown, in a different light. Something that was kind of dark, moody, broody, and sexy.

Did you know how you wanted the film to end when you started writing?

CV: No. I didn’t start with the ending in mind. I started with the characters. For me, film has to be character driven and character centric. I try to let the characters drive where the story goes. I want to start with the characters and get to know them, what they want, what they don’t like and take it step by step.

The main character, Jack, has a motivation that you see almost immediately. Was he written based on anyone you know?

CV: No. He’s basically in South Africa we are going through a big economic crisis. Just because you have the desire to work and a certain skill set, doesn’t mean you’re going to work. This leads to a lot of frustration amongst people. It’s actually lead to a lot of civil unrest. I wanted to encapsulate that sense of silent fury or frustration. No matter how hard people are trying, no matter how good their intentions are, they aren’t being met halfway.

You get the sense of that with Jack. You can tell he wants to do the right thing.

CV: Absolutely. It’s a sad thing that some people really want to do the right thing, but they aren’t being allowed to. They have to do sketchy things as a result just to survive.

CV: Specifically for the crime drama I think it’s bad, it’s forbidden its taboo. People don’t want to go out and join the mafia per say, but they are curious about the seedy underbelly of society that we have. The Average Joe doesn’t want to be a part of it, but they are fascinated by it and want to see how it works. It’s the human nature where the forbidden is kind of interesting.

For me, it’s always been the sense of desperation in the characters. We can all relate to that.

CV: That’s a great point. This goes back to the economic situation because everybody’s desperate. Whether it’s to send their kid to a nice school or put food on the table. People are desperate.

How would have went about stealing the $2 million in the movie?

CV: What would I have done in that situation? I would have done the job. Jack has run out of options. Another issue in South Africa is the issue of ex-cons reintegrating back into society and how they’re viewed as damaged goods. It’s kind of a no brainer. If a convict comes out jail and you don’t want to give him a legit job, what do you think he’s going to do? You’re basically setting it up for him to break the law again. That’s something we need to examine as a society. How we treat our ex-cons and how we do we prevent them from going back into a life of crime.

How was it shooting the film? Were there any complications?

CV: One complication was shooting during the rainy season. It can be sunny and five minutes later you get a downpour. It can make it difficult to have continuity during a scene. We shot outside and there were two people talking. On one person it was raining, and on the other it wasn’t.

Did you have a favorite scene that you shot?

CV: When Jack gets out of jail and goes to visit his fiancé. The sense of anger and betrayal in that scene. The way we were able to capture it and the way the actors performed.

One thing I noticed in How to Make Steal 2 Million was your ability to capture the characters really early on in the film.

CV: So much of the joy is establishing without dialogue at the beginning of films. It’s kind of that unsaid moment where you get it and you understand that character. No words are necessary. It’s about atmosphere.

If you could pick one word or phrase to describe Jack, what would it be?

CV: Driven. He’s just driven to succeed. His idea of success when he comes out of prison is go to legit and he can’t do that. He wants to become a more positive constructive person. He meets Olive and he’s driven to give her the chance for a better life.

Note: This is a seattlepi.com reader blog. It is not written or edited by the P-I. The authors are solely responsible for content. E-mail us at newmedia@seattlepi.com if you consider a post inappropriate.